DJ Khaled Details 'Father of Asahd': "It's My Best Album"

posted by Taylor Fields -
May 17, 2019

He's a star producer, he's a music mogul, and he's many other things, but most importantly, he's the Father of Asahd. DJ Khaled has finally shared his highly anticipated new album, Father of Asahd, with the world, and as expected, it is packed with star power.

Khaled tells iHeartRadio of his new album, "Father of Asahd is my biggest album out to date. It's my 11th album. I put 10 albums out, now it's my 11th album out, [and] I feel like number 11 is the next chapter. More success, more blessings and more wins. I challenged myself. I wanted not only to evolve, but I wanted to make records and every time I made a record, I was so excited to shoot the video, and I knew it was a hit anthem. But, I kept saying to myself, 'Man, inspire me to make another one, and another one, and another one.' I just kept making them. And I kept shooting the videos and I kept putting everything in I can. What I learned through this process is about being disciplined and also being patient for me to give the radio world and my fans and my listeners and just all my supporters a presentation of album of full of greatness. I didn't wanted to settle. I didn't settle for nothing. I made sure I did everything to the fullest."

DJ Khaled is well known for his superstar collaborations, and Father of Asahd is no exception. Fans will also get to see how these collaborations happen in a new documentary, The Father of Asahd Experience. The music mogul tells us, "Some of my favorite artists to work with on Father of Asahd, I'll be honest with you, is everybody on the album. That's why this album is special. And make sure you check out my documentary of The Father of Asahd Experience, you'll see why. You'll see every song on the album and every artist I work with, it was a special moment. I documented it. I can show you better than I can tell you. Go watch the documentary."

He adds, "My favorite songs on Father of Asahd, is the whole entire album from top to bottom. And I ain't just saying this. From top to bottom it's my favorite and that's why it's my best album."

Just before dropping Father of Asahd, Kahled revealed that proceeds from one of the songs on the album, "Higher," featuring Nipsey Hussle and John Legend, will go to the late rapper's two children. He explained in a post on social media of the track:

"Recently, I embarked on a soul-searching journey down a road I never thought I would travel in a million years. It began when a tragedy robbed the world of an enlightened soul, a brother, a father, a partner and my friend, Nipsey Hussle. Just days prior, he shared his energy and positivity with me on a video set for a song called 'Higher.' After much prayer and reflection; and with the full blessing of the Asghedom family. I am sharing that moment with the world. The very title of the song reminds os that vibrating on a 'Higher' level was the essence of Nipsey's soul. It is in this spirit, of moving forward, of preserving his mission that I, my co-writers, producers and label partners are donating 100% of all our proceeds from 'Higher' to Nipsey's children, Emani and Kross. The Marathon Continues."

DJ Khaled also collaborated with Jamaican dancehall/reggae musician Buju Banton, and it's perhaps one of the most important collaborations to the star producer because as he explains he went back to his roots (as in musical inspirations) during the making of Father of Asahd.

Khaled explains of working with Banton, "What's special about Father of Asahd is I made sure I went back to my roots, meaning I don't want use the word 'back to my roots,' I went to, actually, in physical form, to my roots from inspiration of music. And everybody knows DJ Khaled at a super young age has always been a DJ/producer, but also was in the trenches, sound clashing and really heavy in the dancehall/hip hop culture. And I went to Jamaica and I got a chance to record with Buju Banton, which is my brother that supported me day one in my career."

He adds, "It's a blessing for him when he came home. I was one of the first to record with him, and I made two blessings with him. We did some things together, man. The album is crazy. On that record, I am talking about this 'Holy Mountain,' and that's the intro and it's special. And then I ended my album [with a song] called 'Holy Ground' with Buju. And Buju is on both of them. So, you on 'Holy Mountain' and 'Holy Ground'; you start the album and end the album. It's holy. Every ground, any ground I stand on is holy ground. And I've been climbing the holy mountain my whole life."